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JOHNNY JET'S Q & A
Frederick Waterman ~ Author Of Row 22

PROFILE

Frederick Waterman is a former journalist and sportswriter who worked for newspapers in Connecticut and New Hampshire, and for United Press International. His news assignments included coverage of presidential campaigns and elections, murder trials, and every type of local, state, and national news. He also worked as a drama critic in New York and Boston. As a feature writer for UPI, his interview subjects ranged from Stephen King to Eric Sevareid and Cybill Shepherd. While working as a sportswriter for UPI, Waterman covered the Olympics, Wimbledon, the World Series, the Super Bowl, the NBA and NHL playoffs, the PGA, Doug Flutie's "Miracle Pass" in Miami, and the Boston Marathon. His magazine articles included pieces on how to forge fine art and how to be a butler (for which he attended a butlers' school in London). He began writing for "Hemispheres" in 1992 and wrote the first "Row 22, Seats A&B" stories in 1997.

FRED'S ANSWERS

HOW DID YOU START WRITING The ROW 22 STORIES??
I had been doing non-fiction magazine writing for a few years (having previously worked for newspapers and the wire service United Press International), and I wanted to start doing some fiction. Sitting on an airplane, close to strangers for several hours, is a unique situation, so I decided to do a series of short stories for "Hemispheres," United's in-flight magazine, in which the characters would start out in the same circumstance as the readers were in. Each of the Row 22 stories is different (a spy story, a love story, a thriller, etc.), just as the reader/passenger never knows who might be in the next seat, nor what stories might be heard.
HOW OFTEN DO YOU FLY?
It varies from year to year. In 2003, I have been to the Dominican Republic and Ireland, and will go to England in September. I spend more time writing than traveling.
IN A YEAR HOW MANY MILES/POINTS DO YOU EARN?
Again, it varies, but never a lot of miles.
WHAT CLASS OF SERVICE DO YOU MOSTLY FLY IN?
Coach. I'm a frugal New Englander, and, after all, first class only gets there a few seconds faster.
FAVORITE AIRLINE?
United Airlines, of course, because its in-flight magazine is "Hemispheres."
FAVORITE AIRCRAFT?
Boeing 777.
FAVORITE HOTEL?
The Merrion Hotel, in Dublin, and Greywalls, in Muirfield, Scotland.
FAVORITE HOTEL AMENITY?
A good bed (a bad back was my family inheritance).
FAVORITE AIRPORT?
Any airport where the lines are short and the employees are friendly.
FAVORITE AIRPORT TO PASS TIME IN?
Heathrow
FAVORITE CITY?
London -- I like the English sense of humor, and their civility. Where else can you see a man with blue hair, a leather jacket, and a stud through his cheek, hold the door for an old woman -- and do it with the poise and smile of a hotel doorman?
FAVORITE ISLAND?
The British Isle that consists of England, Scotland, and Wales.
FAVORITE SPA?
I've never been to one.
FAVORITE RESTAURANT?
L'Espalier in Boston.
AISLE OR WINDOW?
Aisle -- the room is more important to me than the view.
ETICKET OR PAPER?
No preference.
TRAVEL AGENT OR ONLINE?
On-line.
FAVORITE TRAVEL WEBSITE?
Non-fiction -- JohnnyJet.com. Fiction -- Row22.com.
FAVORITE TRAVEL COMPANION?
A friend with a sense of humor, one who recognizes the difference between a problem and an inconvenience.
IF YOU WERE STRANDED ON A TROPICAL ISLAND, WHAT THREE ITEMS WOULD YOU WANT TO HAVE WITH YOU?
1.) A Bible -- because I've never read it. 2.) (If an "item" can be a person) A woman who is kind, and who possesses a sense of humor and common sense. 3.) An encyclopedia, because there are so many things I don't know.
WHAT DO YOU HATE MOST ABOUT TRAVEL?
The packing -- which I never do until the last few hours -- and getting to the airport -- which is always a struggle.
WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT TRAVEL?
Waking up each morning and knowing that by the time I go to sleep, I will have experiences that I couldn't imagine.
BEST TRAVEL TIP:
Some people travel well -- with humor, energy, and no complaints -- and those are the friends whom I travel with.
BEST TRIP:
The year after college, I traveled for 11 months (on $2,500), through 17 countries in Europe, going to the Arctic Circle, living for a month in Sicily, and bicycling from London to Ediburgh.
BEST TRAVEL EXPERIENCE:
While bicycling through northern England, I stopped in a town on a Saturday morning and, seeing a small, apparently public garden, stopped there. A middle-aged woman immediately came out of her house and asked if I'd like some tea. We sat there for half an hour, having tea and eating cookies, then she said she had to go "because I have a few more things to do -- you see, my daughter's getting married this afternoon." Wow. On that day, she made the time to take tea out to a stranger. The reason you travel is to meet people like that.